About the Venue
The Samuel Worth Chapel is a beautifully restored, intimate events venue set within the wooded hillside of Sheffield General Cemetery. Designed in 1836 by Samuel Worth as the centrepiece of the cemetery’s original plan, the Grade II*listed chapel is noted for its striking Egypto-Greek architecture, featuring a powerful Greek Doric portico, Egyptian-style doorway and elegant, light-filled interior. Carefully restored and reopened in 2016, the project won a Georgian Group Award for its sensitive conservation.
Today, the chapel offers a distinctive setting for concerts, cinema screenings, exhibitions, conferences and weddings, with adjacent green space allowing celebrations both indoors and outdoors. Fully accessible and licensed for events throughout the year, the Samuel Worth Chapel also includes a café/bar serving local drinks during events. Managed by Sheffield General Cemetery Trust, the venue plays a vital role in sustaining the cemetery’s future while providing one of Sheffield’s most atmospheric heritage spaces for cultural events.
Key details
Built: 1836
Listing: Grade II*
Style: Egypto-Greek (Doric portico)
Setting: Sheffield General Cemetery nature reserve
Facilities: Fully accessible; licensed café/bar
Uses: Concerts, screenings, exhibitions, conferences, weddings & private events
Historic, serene and architecturally striking, the Samuel Worth Chapel is a standout venue for memorable events in Sheffield.
Upcoming Events
As the city sleeps and the birds awaken, Ensemble 360 invites you to experience one of Sheffield’s most atmospheric musical traditions: Birdsong at Dawn.
Set among the sheltering trees of Sheffield General Cemetery, this early-morning concert takes place inside the beautiful Samuel Worth Chapel, as the natural dawn chorus weaves seamlessly with live music inspired by birdsong.
This much-loved event returns as part of the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, offering a moment of calm, reflection and wonder at the very start of the day.
Music inspired by birds across three centuries
Performed at first light, the programme features flute and piano music spanning Baroque elegance to 20th-century colour and complexity — all inspired by the sounds and spirit of birds.
Programme highlights include:
Olivier Messiaen – Le Rouge-gorge, L’alouette Calandrelle, Le Merle Noir, Le Loriot
François Couperin – Le rossignol en amour
Jean-Philippe Rameau – Le Rappel des Oiseaux
Georg Philipp Telemann – Fantasias No.2 & No.7
Camille Saint-Saëns (arr. Richter) – Volière
Antonio Vivaldi – Cantabile from Il Gardellino
Bohuslav Martinů – Flute Sonata No.1 (excerpt)
From nightingales and larks to blackbirds and orioles, the music mirrors the living soundscape beyond the chapel walls.
Post-concert bird walk
After the concert, ticket-holders are invited to join a guided Bird Walk led by Tom McKinney of BBC Radio 3 — classical music’s favourite birder and a long-standing friend of the Festival.
The walk explores Sheffield General Cemetery, celebrating the real-life avian musicians encountered at dawn.
Strictly limited to Birdsong at Dawn ticket-holders.
Why this event is special
A rare 5am concert experience
Music and nature perfectly intertwined
Deeply atmospheric and reflective
A uniquely Sheffield cultural tradition
Booking offers
Part of Music in the Round Sheffield:
Save 20% when booking 10 or more concerts in one transaction
Save 10% when booking 5 or more concerts in one transaction
🎟 Tickets & full details:
https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/birdsong-at-dawn
As the morning light filters through the trees of Sheffield General Cemetery, Ensemble 360 invites audiences to pause, listen and immerse themselves in Birdsong at Breakfast — a much-loved tradition of the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival.
Set within the intimate surroundings of Samuel Worth Chapel, this gentle early-morning concert blends live flute and piano music with the natural sounds of birdsong continuing outside, creating a uniquely calm and reflective start to the day.
Music inspired by birds across three centuries
The programme explores how composers across history have responded to the songs of birds, from Baroque elegance to 20th-century colour and complexity.
Programme includes:
Olivier Messiaen – Le Rouge-gorge, L’alouette Calandrelle, Le Merle Noir, Le Loriot
François Couperin – Le rossignol en amour
Jean-Philippe Rameau – Le Rappel des Oiseaux
Georg Philipp Telemann – Fantasias No.2 & No.7
Camille Saint-Saëns (arr. Richter) – Volière
Antonio Vivaldi – Cantabile from Il Gardellino
Bohuslav Martinů – Flute Sonata No.1 (excerpt)
From nightingales and larks to blackbirds and orioles, the music mirrors the living soundscape beyond the chapel walls.
Post-concert bird walk
Following the concert, ticket-holders are invited to join a guided Bird Walk led by Tom McKinney of BBC Radio 3.
Starting at Samuel Worth Chapel, the walk explores Sheffield General Cemetery to spot and celebrate the real-life avian musicians of the morning.
Strictly limited to ticket-holders for the Birdsong concerts.
Why this event is special
A peaceful breakfast-time concert in a unique setting
Music and nature woven together seamlessly
Intimate, reflective and deeply atmospheric
A cherished Sheffield Chamber Music Festival experience
Booking offers
Part of Music in the Round Sheffield:
Save 20% when booking 10 or more concerts in one transaction
Save 10% when booking 5 or more concerts in one transaction
🎟 Tickets & full details:
https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/birdsong-at-breakfast
As daylight fades and evening settles over Sheffield General Cemetery, Ensemble 360 invites audiences to experience a beautifully atmospheric concert of chamber music in the intimate surroundings of Samuel Worth Chapel.
This carefully curated programme of quartets and quintets brings together wit, lyricism and late-Romantic richness — perfectly matched to the reflective stillness of a sunset performance.
Programme highlights
Carl Maria von Weber – Clarinet Quintet
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Oboe Quartet, K370
Erich Wolfgang Korngold – Piano Quintet
Mozart’s oboe quartet unfolds with effortless grace and warmth, while Korngold’s Piano Quintet provides a glowing centrepiece — lushly romantic, deeply expressive, and crowned by a haunting second movement inspired by the line:
Why attend
A rare evening concert set within Sheffield General Cemetery
Chamber music designed for intimacy, reflection and atmosphere
One of the final concerts of a special day of music in the cemetery
Ideal for classical music lovers seeking something unique and memorable
Part of the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival
Sunset forms part of the Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, bringing together music, place and time of day to create an experience that’s as immersive as it is moving.
🎟 Tickets & full details:
https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/events/sunset-2